Even with state Senate's OK, promoters continuing with federal action

Published 10:42 pm, Friday, March 8, 2013

ALBANY — Promoters of professional mixed martial arts bouts celebrated a victory earlier in the week when the state Senate voted to legalize the sport.

But that legislative win doesn't mean proponents have let down their guard.

Lawyers for the sport's leading franchise, Ultimate Fighting Championship, say they will continue their federal lawsuit seeking MMA legalization in New York.

The case is proceeding after UFC and the state were first supposed to go before a magistrate to see if they could reach an agreement without continuing the suit. But the state called off the meeting Thursday, UFC said.

In a statement, the company said it "is greatly disappointed that the settlement conference scheduled today before the federal court has been cancelled because the New York attorney general is no longer willing to discuss a settlement."

A spokesman for Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, whose office is defending the state's ban on MMA, declined comment because the case is in litigation.

UFC went to federal court in November 2011 with a complaint alleging the ban was illegal. They contend blocking pro MMA fights is a violation of the First Amendment and interferes with interstate commerce.

But the main complaint is that the law is vague, especially considering that amateur MMA bouts are allowed in New York.

"The statute is so unclear that nobody seems to offer an interpretation as to what it means," said Barry Friedman, a UFC lawyer.

One of the latest twists came in a February hearing between lawyers for the state and UFC.

The company maintained the state's lawyer had suggested that MMA could be legal if it were sanctioned by an already recognized group — such as a karate or kickboxing association.

That will likely emerge as an important grappling point when the two sides return to court.

Despite the Senate's passage of the MMA legalization bill, a similar measure hasn't moved through the Assembly — although Speaker Sheldon Silver said earlier this week that he thought it was likely the bouts would eventually be approved. The Senate has approved earlier bills.

There has been speculation that union politics could play a role in the Assembly impasse.

Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta, the Las Vegas businessmen who control UFC's parent firm, have been battling the Culinary Workers union over labor issues at a group of non-union properties owned by the brothers.